Save
action and superhero films, the biggest big-money feature film
productions have been fantasy epics, thank to Lord
of The Rings,
its Hobbit
sequel trilogy and all the new digital visual effects and digital HD
cameras out there. In their wake, the low-budget faith film cycle
has also led to a new group of Biblical Epics that have led to mixed
results, though the fantasy films often have either fiction faith
and/or other ancient religions of the past. It is also interesting
that these big budget films have been among the first choices for
release in the new Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray format, as Ridley Scott's
Exodus:
Gods & Kings
was one of the first titles we covered that way.

Now
we can add two more....

Alex
Proyas' Gods
Of Egypt
(2016) has a few interesting distinctions, one of which being one of
the few big mega-productions out of Australia of late (Mad
Max: Fury Road,
also on a 4K Blu-ray we hope to see soon, is one of the few others)
from an underrated locale of serious movie production. Thus, when
you have the director of The
Crow
and Dark
City
making a big fantasy film, there, the expectations should be high and
you'd think the makers would take advantage of both the talent and
unique feel of Aussie productions. Unfortunately, we get missed
opportunities, mistakes, formula and a lack of exposition that
sabotaged a work that I still incredibly ambitious and has more
interesting off-screen work than what we land up seeing.

Gerard
Butler is boo-hiss villain Set, out to be the dark ruler of the a
mythical Egypt of the past, nearly killing Horus (Nikojai
Coster-Waldau) in an early battle, witnessed by young, barely
battle-capable Bek (Brenton Thwaites, whose lost, underdeveloped role
will remind one too much of the parts of the recent John
Carter
that did not work), setting the tone for the 2+ hours action epic.
However, there are things that just come out of nowhere, staring with
people (gods?) turning into metallic CGI animals as each fight
begins. That I among many things that make no sense and if explained
better, this would have worked instead of playing like a non-musical
version of say... Xanadu!

The
supporting cast is not bad with Rufus Sewell, Brian Brown, Geoffrey
Rush and Chadwick Boseman all welcome additions. I simply never
bought this and though some critics just bashed it mindlessly (Proyas
rightly criticized that part), it is still a strange, awkward, mixed
and sometimes messy work that needed thought out much better. Also,
by trying too much to be like a big CGI Hollywood production, it did
a disservice to itself. However, I wonder if this might become a
cult item at some point.

Kevin
Reynolds has also made his good and poor films, so I was surprised
when he took on Risen
(2016), a tale of the Christ having to do with his resurrection.
Another problematic film, the approach to this religious, Christian
landmark moment is being sold as a thriller (a manhunt for a man
supposedly dead, suddenly disappeared after being slain and stored in
a cave with a giant bolder under seal) and can the cruel, violent
non-believer Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) find the body before the
'outrageous, preposterous, ridiculous rumors' that he has somehow
risen form the dead ('idiots!') cause an uprising that may cause the
rulers to start killing thousands of people (read believers) off.
Only in this era could the resurrection of Christ be sold as a police
procedural.

So
that's the premise of this take and we get some good casting, like
Peter Firth (Equus,
The
Hunt For Red October,
Tess,
Lifeforce,
Pearl
Harbor)
as Pontius Pilot, Tom Felton (the Harry Potter films) as Lucius and
Maria Botto (My
Life In Ruins,
Only
Human)
in an odd turn as Mary Magdalene as if she were a witch in the dark
arts or some other kind of nearly Satanic clairvoyant. Needless to
say the film plays so loose with the various Gospels on the subject
from the many variant version of The Bible that even an atheist is
bound to notice.

Therefore,
this was not that impressive, memorable or did much with the material
that we have not seen and done better in earlier filmed versions, but
at least the approach is different, though I was not convinced of
Fiennes' transformation despite his acting skills, but the material's
structure is not a help. Now, you can see for yourself.

The
2160p HEVC/H.265, HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced 2.35 X 1 Ultra
High Definition image on both films in the 4K presentations here are
better than the regular 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image
transfers, but they don't necessarily stand out as demo product,
though Gods
was mostly shot on a 6K RED Epic Dragon, it was finished in 2K (could
that include some shots here with their iffy quality?) and a big
helping of blue/green screen. Director of Photography Peter Menzies,
Jr. juggles it as all well as con be expected. The Blu-ray is more
disappointing than expected, but the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I more like
it despite other issues. Risen
was shot on an Arri Alexa (2.8K) and is made to look a bit like film,
plus they have made the image a bit dim throughout, with less detail
on the regular Blu-ray and more on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, making
that higher-definition format the better way to watch the film as
well.

As
for sound, both films offer 11.1 lossless mixes in their 4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray versions, with Gods
offering a DTS: X such mix that is also on the regular Blu-ray
edition and Risen
a Dolby
Atmos such mix, the best sonic presentations for each film, though
Gods
had a few moments I thought fell flat. Still, they are both mostly
state of the art if offering nothing sonically outstanding or
memorable. The regular Blu-ray of Risen
only has a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix that is fine,
but no match for the Atmos 11.1 version.

Extras
from both releases include Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC
portable and other cyber iTunes capable devices and the extras are
all on the regular Blu-ray for both releases. Gods
adds A
Divine Vision: Creating a Cinematic Action Fantasy,
Of
Gods and Mortals: The Cast,
The
Battle for Eternity: Stunts Transformation,
Costume,
Make-Up and Hair,
Deleted Storyboards, A
Window into Another World: Visual Effects
and On
Location: Shooting in Australia
featurettes. Risen
adds Deleted
Scenes, Script to Screen, a
feature length audio commentary
track by Producer Patrick Aiello and Writer Paul Aiello, The
Mystery of the Resurrection: Making Risen,
Creating
A.D. Jerusalem
and The
Battle of the Zealots Deconstructed
featurettes.